Stu Cowan: Serge Savard still believes in the Canadiens' season

Former Canadiens general manager Serge Savard hasn’t given up on this season’s team.

“I don’t like that people think that they’re not going to make the playoffs when there’s 30 games to go and only four points behind (a playoff spot),” Savard said Tuesday afternoon before the Canadiens faced the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre. “I think there’s still a lot of hockey.”

Savard said the Canadiens probably aren’t as good as they looked when they set a franchise record with a 9-0 start to the season, but added the team is “better than it’s shown in the last few weeks.”

The Canadiens have definitely looked better over the last four days, winning three straight games, including a 4-2 victory over the Lighting Tuesday night. Tomas Plekanec scored twice for the Canadiens, while Brendan Gallagher and Devante Smith-Pelly added singles. P.K. Subban logged 29:13 of ice time and picked up an assist to increase his point streak to seven games.

With 27 games left in the season, the Canadiens are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind eighth-place Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot, with the Penguins holding three games in hand.

Savard took part in a news conference Tuesday afternoon at the Château Champlain Hotel to promote the ’72 Summit Series Tour later this year celebrating the historic eight-game series between Team Canada and the Soviet Union. He was joined by four other former Canadiens who were part of Team Canada — Ken Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer, Peter Mahovlich and Guy Lapointe — along with Pat Stapleton, who was with the Chicago Blackhawks, and Phil Esposito, a former Boston Bruin.

Savard was asked what this year’s Canadiens team could learn from Team Canada, which rallied to win the final three games of the Summit Series in the Soviet Union and took it with Paul Henderson’s historic winning goal with 34 seconds remaining in Game 8.

“To me, it’s always the same message,” Savard said. “I don’t care who you are, the day you forget that this is a team – you’re not playing golf, you’re not playing tennis – you’re playing hockey, and it’s a team sport. The day you forget that, you may work just as hard as before, but you try to do a lot of things on your own and it doesn’t work. That’s why sometimes teams have major problems. It’s the day they forget that this is a team — you have to be a team to win.”

Savard likes to say he was part of “a committee” to help find a new general manager for the Canadiens four years ago, but the committee was actually him and owner Geoff Molson. They decided on Marc Bergevin, who seemed to to be blessed with the magic touch until his team suddenly fell apart after Carey Price’s “lower-body injury” on Nov. 25.

The Canadiens went 3-11-0 in December and 3-7-1 in January, failing to win back-to-back games even once while earning only 13 out of a possible 50 points to fall out of a playoff spot. After losing their first two games in February, the Canadiens have now given their fans a bit of hope with three straight victories.

Remember that scene from the movie Dumb and Dumber when the goofy-looking character played by Jim Carey asks the smoking-hot redhead (actress Lauren Holly): “What are my chances?”

“Did anybody think we were going to win the Stanley Cup in ’93?” Savard said about the last Canadiens team to win the championship when he was still GM. “Nobody thought we were going to. Did anybody think we were going to win in Russia in 1972 after losing the first game in Russia? Nobody thought we were going to win. We won the last three games.

“So I don’t know anything about Price … Price could come back … anything can happen.”

Canadiens fans are starting to perk up, breaking into a loud version of the “Olé! Olé!” chant in the third period, followed by Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ blasting out of the Bell Centre speakers.

Savard said he hasn’t really kept in touch with Bergevin since he was hired as GM, saying: “Geoff Molson asked me at that time to be part of the committee that hired Marc Bergevin. That’s your show after that, it’s not mine.

“I’ve been out of hockey for quite a long time and you see it very, very differently when you’re inside,” Savard added. “You’re very emotional, you think the world’s against you, and you’re not happy when a reporter writes something not nice about you. But when you’re outside, you say it’s not that bad. The guy didn’t write anything wrong. It’s very different. And it’s really up to the players.”

Does Savard have any advice for Bergevin?

“I have no advice to give him,” the former GM said. “He’s in charge. I’m a fan … I’m watching what he’s doing.”

So is every other hockey fan in Montreal. Watching … and hoping … and believin’.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.